At the Back of the North Wind

George MacDonald (1824-1905)

Approximate level: B1
Length: 91,298 words
Reading time: 7 h 36 min
Chapters: 38
Language: English
On Project Gutenberg since: 2008

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George MacDonald’s Victorian-era children’s novel follows Diamond, a boy who lives above a coach-house and encounters the mysterious North Wind. Its fairy-tale elements sit alongside scenes of everyday life, including work, family, poverty, and kindness. The prose uses older British expressions and some formal or poetic language, so a few words may feel unfamiliar. Most sentences are clear, though descriptions and reflections can become long and involved. The book’s ideas about hardship, comfort, death, and goodness invite careful reading.

1,889 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Fairy tales

Questions about this book

What level of English do I need for this book?

The estimate is B1, based on how common the words are and how long the sentences run. It is an approximation, not a test result. With a translation under every sentence you can start one level earlier than you would with a paper copy.

Is this book really free?

Yes. The text is in the public domain and comes from Project Gutenberg, so it costs nothing. In Lingo7 you open the book and read the first page for free; a subscription unlocks the whole library, the audio and the word practice.

How does reading with a translation work?

Lingo7 shows the original sentence and, right under it, the same sentence in your language. Tap a word to see what it means, hear it, and save it for practice. The translation is made while you read, so it works for any book and for 50 languages.

How long does it take to read?

About 7 h 36 min at a native pace, spread over 38 chapters. In a foreign language plan for more: half an hour a day finishes a book of this size in a few weeks.